Posthumous Oxford degree awarded to its first Māori scholar

On Sept. 27, Mākereti Papakura, believed to be the first Indigenous woman to study at Oxford University, was awarded a posthumous degree almost 100 years after she began her studies.

Born in Aotearoa/ New Zealand in 1873, Mākereti is believed to be the first Indigenous scholar to matriculate at the University in 1927, carrying out research exploring the customs of her Te Arawa people from a female perspective. Tragically, she died in 1930, just weeks before she was due to hand in her thesis. Mākereti’s good friend, Rhodes Scholar and fellow Oxford anthropologist, T.K. Penniman, posthumously published her work in a book titled “The Old-Time Māori.” It became the first ethnographic study published by a Māori author and is recognized as such by the New Zealand Royal Society.

At the graduation ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey, presented the MPhil Anthropology degree certificate to a relative of Mākereti, June Northcroft Grant. More than 100 people travelled from Aotearoa/New Zealand to mark the occasion. Former prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, also attended the special ceremony in a personal capacity, along with her husband and daughter.

The decision to award the posthumous degree followed efforts by Mākereti’s family and Evie O’Brien, who is the former executive director of the Atlantic Institute at the Rhodes Trust, an Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity and Pitt Rivers Museum board member. Others seeking recognition from the University for her academic achievement included the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, the Pitt Rivers Museum and Mākereti’s college, St. Anne’s.

Evie O’Brien, now the chief executive of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, New Zealand, said:  “Mākereti paved the way for Māori women at Oxford, myself included. I had the honor of connecting more deeply with her life during my time as executive director at the Atlantic Institute, based at the Rhodes Trust. It is wonderful to be back in Oxford to see her work and contribution recognized by the University with the award of a posthumous degree. While Mākereti had a deep connection with her home and people in Aotearoa, she also had a special connection with Oxford, choosing to be buried in Oddington, Oxfordshire. It is fitting that we are marking this historic occasion with events reflecting both Oxford and Māori traditions.”

After the graduation ceremony, another special event followed at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the site of the inaugural Mākereti Papakura Lecture in 2022. The ceremony featured a karanga (a traditional Māori chant or call honoring the dead) welcoming their spirit and whānau (family) and a haka pōwhiri (a ritual of acknowledgement), as well as speeches and musical performances from representatives of Mākereti’s iwi (tribe), Tūhourangi.

Speaking on behalf of Mākereti’s descendants, June Northcroft Grant, said: “Mākereti Papakura has been a legend in our family for over 100 years. Our family has been quietly and patiently telling her story over many decades about her thesis, “The Old Time Māori,” knowing how important and faithful the stories from her grandparents were to the future generations. We, the Ihaia whanau of Ngati Wahiao, are humbled by the recognition and conferment of this great honor from Oxford University and all those individuals who were instrumental in making this happen.”

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